EnactusOC: Motivating a Student Leadership Team During a Global

Pandemic

It was December 19, 2020 and Nicole Sapieha had just finished her 4th-year Business
Research Methods final exam. She now had one semester left to complete before receiving her
Bachelor of Business Administration Honors degree at Okanagan College (OC), in Kelowna,
BC, Canada. As she stared out her bedroom window at the soft white snowflakes that had started
to fall, her mind quickly turned to the Zoom call she had two weeks' carrier with her EnactusOC
faculty advisors. She was halfway through her term as President of the EnactusOC team, and
motivation and morale were at an all-time low; this was a very unusual situation for such a
consistently high-performing team.
Leading a volunteer student group during the Covid-19 global pandemic, when all her
college studies had been forced online, was not how she had envisioned her last year unfolding.
Sapieha felt pressure to achieve the same significant accomplishments as in previous years and
had promised to work on a turnaround plan for the team that she could present to her student
executive and faculty mentors early in the new year. She was concerned the team could lose
members, renege on projects and commitments with key partners, and not participate in
competitions, demonstrating a lackluster or even unsuccessful year, something uncommon in
EnactusOC's prior 15-year history. Sapieha did not want to be the leader under which this
occurred. It was time to roll up her sleeves and figure out what she could do to inspire her peers
and inject some fun and camaraderie into the membership. "I have benefited so much from my
Enactus experience in terms of friendships, employable skills, connections, and valuable
volunteer experience, and one of the reasons I stepped into this role was to ensure the same
experience for others''. As she shut off her computer and got ready for a celebratory family
dinner to end the semester, her mind was racing with ideas about what to propose. Could she get
the team back on track, or would EnactusOC be one more casualty of the global pandemic?

ENACTUS CANADA

Enactus Canada was a national charitable organization comprised of “a community of

student, academic, and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action
to transform lives and shape a better and more sustainable future". Enactus students showcased
their impact on regional, national, and world stages through competitions guided by their faculty
advisors and assessed by business and community leaders.
 The mission of Enactus Canada was to advance Canada's economic, social, and
environmental health by shaping generations of entrepreneurial leaders. Students completed
community outreach projects to empower people to improve their lives. Enactus Canada
provided training events and personalized support to build the capacity of teams and their
students. In addition, it developed corporate and organizational partnerships that enabled Enactus
Canada to provide grants through project accelerators, host national challenges (common areas
were financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and climate action), offer topic competitions (such as
lasting hunger relief or job creation), and run regional and national competitions. These events
allowed students to display their impact, connect with other students as well as academic and
business leaders, and participate in activities such as career fairs, educational forums, and guest
speaker sessions. Meredith Drost, Manager of Programs at Enactus Canada and a former Enactus
student, had identified four qualities she believed were key to becoming a strong student leader
in Enactus. These qualities included:
- perseverance (willingness to learn in challenging situations);
- patience (ability to help others to reach their goals);
- resilience (courage to overcome seemingly insurmountable issues); and
- passion (ability to see a change and be empowered to develop projects to meet that need).

ENACTUS OKANAGAN COLLEGE (ENACTUS OC) HISTORY

Enactus Okanagan was successful from the very beginning by winning the 2006 John
Dobson Best Start-up Chapter in the country. Since then, the team consistently took podium
finishes and secured top National wins. “Being part of the Nationals team in 2019 was a surreal
experience,” Sapieha reflected “as our team won several top awards and I got a chance to present
against other top students in Canada.” Students, alumni, and faculty achieved national
recognition for their efforts and several of OC’s executive and administrative leaders, including
the President, would travel to competitions to participate in and support these events. For
EnactusOC team member Zackary Plaxton, “competitions were filled with friendships and
networking and was a key motivator for participating”. (Exhibit 1 details the team’s noteworthy
milestones and the expansion from OC’S Kelowna campus to its Vernon, Penticton, and Salmon
Arm campuses).
Team membership each year ranged from 50 to 100 students. It was common for students
to participate in Enactus for several years, increasing their level of responsibility the longer they
remained, progressing from member to project manager to an executive role. This continuity was
one of the features that attracted Andrew Klingel, a faculty advisor from the Vernon campus, to
get involved. In this role, he developed strong relationships with a variety of students. He also
enjoyed the collegiality with other faculty mentors from the Okanagan School of Business who
joined the organization to help oversee and guide the students, providing the most extensive
faculty advisory network across Enactus Canada. (Exhibit 2 displays the organizational structure
of EnactusOC, stakeholders, and student roles in the school year 2020-21). Klingel described
four primary functions that encompassed his position. Faculty advisors acted as a contact on each
campus, assisted with specific projects, worked directly with student leaders, and helped prepare
students for competition. Klingel joined the team in 2012 and, over time, participated in all these
roles. When asked why, Klingel explained, "It's really a good match for me because I am very
passionate about community involvement, and it's such a great hands-on learning experience for
students as they are starting and running projects, and now social businesses, that directly impact
their communities”.
EnactusOC received ongoing support and recognition locally, which consisted of grants,
competition carnings, sponsorship, and institutional funding. Additionally, the team regularly
secured national Enactus grants to scale projects and develop new ones (See Exhibit 3 for a
description of the projects throughout their history). “One of my jobs," Sapieha explained, “was
to ensure the team continued to be well resourced, because sustainable forms of funding allowed
the team to invest in new projects and send students to competitions.” This emphasis on projects
attracted faculty advisor Devin Rubadeau to the team in 2013: "Although I have taken on all of
the roles,” Rubadeau explained, “my focus has been on overseeing the development and running
of projects. As someone with a background in sports coaching, I saw Enactus as an opportunity
to coach and mentor students beyond the classroom experience.”

ENACTUSOC ORGANIZATION

Enactus Canada teams functioned independently across the network, but they did have to
submit and adhere to a team affiliation agreement and minimum quality standards to operate at
their academic institution. These requirements included having at least one committed Faculty
Advisor, a minimum of 10 active students, participation in competitions, running at least one
project, and reporting their year-end data on impact, project partnerships, and national grant
outcomes. In addition, a Program Manager employed by Enactus Canada, who oversaw a
specific region, was assigned to each team and provided support in several areas, including team
and project development, fundraising and marketing, aided by an online resource library.
Structures varied across the country and were left to the discretion of each team.

ENACTUSOC STRUCTURE
 The structure of the EnactusOC team differed slightly each year based upon the direction
of the student President, and in consultation with faculty advisors and peers. Each year a
President was chosen through a selection process and succession strategy from the previous year.
Because the Kelowna campus had the largest student population and typically the most Enactus
members, student leaders often came from this campus. Due to the four campus structure of the
team, a Vice-President (VP) role on each campus was typical in addition to executive positions
around finance, marketing, and fundraising. "My experience," Sapieha stated, "was that most
EnactusOC students came from the business program, even though membership was open to all
students. I had hoped to recruit across all disciplines, but the pandemic derailed this goal"
Klingel noted that the students were adept at managing technology because of their
unique circumstance of a four-campus model. They had navigated remote meetings for years and
had experimented with various online storage systems for all their files, some platforms were
more successful than ushers. Klingel did observe that some activities, such as managing social
media, managing project and student teams, and overseeing external stakeholder relations, was
executed better in some years than others, dependant on the current year's motivation of the
leadership and their executive team.
Rubadeau agreed that communication proficiency was dependent on the skill set of each
year's student team. The President, he explained, was the "face" of the team and was most
successful when they were a self-starter who had strong respect and rapport within their team
through their previous roles and outcomes. Rubadeau noted that it was not easy to be fully and
consistently connected to students, faculty, and stakeholders across all four regions because it
required a strong work ethic. Although the President communicated with people at all levels of
the team, Rubadeau commented that it was more frequently with executive members or project
managers. Presidents were also the link to any external partners and had the most direct
relationship with faculty advisors. Faculty support was provided at any level but frequently had
the most influence at the project management and senior executive level (see Exhibit 2:
EnactusOC organizational chart). Asked to describe the upward communication strategies of
students, Rubadeau said it varied each year based upon the strength of the President and the
connections students had with various faculty, peers, community partners and the student leader.
"Project Managers were generally independent and were guided primarily by faculty
advisors, external advisors, or self-direction," identified Rubadeau. "Assistance from
leadership was inconsistent and could include some varied oversight from the
Vice-President on each campus. Although students felt they could talk to student leaders
about their projects, that may not have included direct support. Leadership from faculty
advisors to students was generally hands-on and potentially inspiring; leadership from
student leaders was inconsistent and student dependent. The quality of the relationship
 between the project manager and the student leader seemed to be a contributing factor
when considering the quantity and quality of communication."

ENACTUS LEADERSHIP

Project managers and executive members had operated on all four campuses and
produced successful and award-winning programs. However, the effectiveness of each campus
strategy was dependent upon student interest every year, and was mainly a result of strong
community partners, motivated members, access to funding, and competent faculty support.
Klingel commented that what he looked for in Enactus leaders were students driven to participate
beyond resume-building and who were genuinely interested in community involvement, a
specific project or working with other students. "So, what Enactus really needs is students who
will take the initiative and figure it out. That resourcefulness is rare, but those that display it will
find a way to solve the need or create a solution that works.”
Rubadeau added that the qualities of successful leaders he saw in Enactus were a
combination of effort, academic success, and emotional intelligence. "These students can balance
school and other commitments, they are drivers and put in the hard work, but they also know
how to carry themselves successfully in all their interactions." Both Rubadeau and Klingel
mentored high achievement students who initiated award-winning projects such as Silver
Surfers, Fruit Snaps and CANSave (see Exhibit 3 for these and other Project descriptions
operated by the EnactusOC team). They also oversaw various members with varying levels of
motivation and skills in project and executive roles. EnactusOC had a succession strategy
whereby students would be mentored in project and executive roles during the second half of the
year so that many of the positions for the following year were filled in advance. Enactus would
lose some members each year when students pursued a foreign exchange or work co-op.
However, the Enactus program was so flexible and well known on campus that it had not been
difficult to recruit for new positions, many students came back to EnactusOC when they returned
to their studies.
Klingel said that students required good time management skills because they often
juggled work, academic commitments, Enactus roles, and family responsibilities. "Part of the
faculty advisor's role was to know when to 'lean into coaching' and when to 'step back into an
advisory capacity' while assessing the risk level of the situation," Klingel commented. The
complexity of the projects also dictated the level of faculty involvement. Creating social
enterprises had increasingly been the focus for Enactus from both a national and local level.
Teams in the Enactus network began to concentrate on developing projects with sustainable
business models, including EnactusOC, such as the expansion of Fruit Snaps into a fruit juice
product (refer to Exhibit 3 for descriptions of these projects and Exhibit 4 for EnactusOC
team and project pictures.) The revenues generated reduced the reliance on outside funding
such as donations, grants, and sponsorships necessary to scale projects. Students who understood
the project development process were often identified for executive roles on the team. "A strong
President was usually a strong project manager. This is where the team creates its impact, how
can you expect someone to lead without this experience?" admitted Klingel.

PRESIDENT OF ENACTUSOC

After a successful regional competition in the spring of 2019, Sapieha was selected as the
best candidate for the incoming President position. She had joined the team two years prior,
initially intending to broaden her community engagement in anticipation of applying to law
school when she completed her business degree. In her first year, she began as a general member,
volunteering at various events, and was identified early on for her strong presentation skills and
offered a place on the Nationals team. In her second year with the team, she led one of Kelowna's
most notable projects, Accelerate Youth, a program focusing on practical life skills for at-risk
youth. Sapieha was interested in leadership at a young age and had her sights set on a
higher-level role for her last year. "It was a natural development step for me from Project
Manager to President," Sapieha reflected. "I considered other executive positions but felt that the
President was the right role as it would challenge me and give me a lot of really valuable skills
and definitely push me to grow."
When Covid hit and the Enactus Canada National competition migrated to an online
format, the team scrambled to move projects online and prepare for a virtual event. However, the
biggest challenge was when one team member tragically passed away in a motor vehicle
accident, merely weeks after their top podium finish. Despite this, the team rallied together,
competed on the National stage, received a 3rd place finish in the country for the project and
received Collaboration and Team Advisor awards for their community partnership with the
non-profit Gleaners organization. Sapieha also took home the Founder's Bursary for her superior
leadership and team development skills, one of only 16 awarded by the John Dobson Foundation.
However, due to the loss of a team member, sheer exhaustion, and the uncertainty everyone was
facing of having to move all schooling and activities online, EnactusOC did not commit to
competing in the Nationals team category, which showcased impact from the overall year. It was
the first time in EnactusOC's history that this had occurred. Instead, Sapieha focused her
attention on building the team and mapping out the projects and goals for the year ahead.
When determining what characteristics Sapieha valued on her team, she specified
accountability, experience, and autonomy, and looked to students she already had personal
relationships with to fill pivotal roles. "I know this isn't always ideal", Sapieha commented, "but
I reached out initially to my friends as I thought about who I could lean on, fall back on, and rely
on. I trust who I know." She identified someone for the VP Kelowna role, and they set out to
create job descriptions for all the positions, interview students, and set up the team systems. They
assumed that online would be temporary, so their goals were developing marketing plans and
budgets over the summer. "We applied for and received a national grant for a new program, Ivy
Collective, a self-development program for females aged 15-18, and we completed a fun summer
challenge through Enactus Canada, which had some financial motivation and encouraged
collaboration amongst the members," Sapieha stated. "There were a few bumps along the way -
our VP Kelowna quit for a job and one of our project manager positions changed over - but I
thought we were off to a great start. I just encouraged a lot of conversation over zoom and tried
to be as human as possible in all my communications."
EnactusOC often discussed what they needed from leadership, and Sapieha in particular,
to run the team virtually. Plaxton stepped in to fill the VP Kelowna role. To him, Sapieha "made
your goals very clear and gave you all the information you needed to get the job done." Danielle
Walker, the Project Manager of CANSave, said it was important that leadership provided the
motivation needed to get through the tough times and ‘walked the talk’. She said Sapieha was
"respectful, led by example, and was actively engaged in the team's projects." Other members
noted Sapieha's responsive and open communication style, her collaborative approach, and the
support and confidence she instilled in the team. Mackenna Fenarcie talked about the need for
mentorship in this environment. "Nicole [Sapieha] won't just fix it herself; she will tell you
where you could have improved, what you could have done better and assist you along the way."
Fourth-year student Rachel Wehrmann had worked alongside Sapieha in the previous year with
EnactusOC and stepped into an executive role in her final year. She highlighted Sapieha's
positive and confident nature and her strong communication abilities. "She focuses a lot on
coaching, and I think that sets everyone up for success moving forward," stated Wehrmann.

FORCED TO PIVOT

In early March 2020, because of the onset of Covid-19, Enactus Canada had to pivot and
offer two of their three regional competitions remotely (only Western Canada had the event in
person) and hosted their first-ever virtual national competition in May 2020. Participation
required students to move their projects online and compete remotely through pre-recorded
presentation videos. Sapieha remembered, "we were fortunate our regional competition was in
person before everything shut down, but there was little appetite to present remotely at Nationals
and only one of our teams competed."
 Klingel believed that the ability to pivot in unpredictable situations would be a critical
strength for Sapieha to lead her team through a global pandemic effectively. Drost had witnessed
Sapieha's growth through various roles from a member to a Project Manager to a President. She
had confidence in her ability to lead and adapt during such a chaotic time in the Enactus network.
Drost noted that EnactusOC had managed four campuses prior to the pandemic. "They were set
up already. I knew there would be ups and downs, but I felt Nicole and her team were in a good
place. She is able to make decisions about which projects to keep, grow, or pause. She gets stuff
done and makes an impact."

TEAM SUCCESSES

Sapieha recognized EnactusOC had garnered some early wins. The team was in place;
they secured a second national grant to start up a new program, Rising, and had run an outdoor,
socially distanced recruitment event in September 2020 that had garnered some excitement and
recruitment success. However, Sapieha recognized that everything she had planned was with the
expectation that remote learning and Enactus activities online would only be temporary. "Virtual
was a surprise and it took a lot of really fast pivoting because, in the summer, my VP and I had a
million plans for engagement, motivation, and outreach with the team; all of our strategies
around project management, meetings and networking were based around people committing and
getting together. It required a major re-think very early into my fall term as President," described
Sapieha. She admitted that she made some decisions quickly in the semester with the help of the
faculty advisors, including focusing primarily on two campuses - Kelowna and Vernon - and not
engaging in fundraising activities, which she believed were too difficult to do remotely. She
committed to consistent, personal, and as much as possible, one-on-one communication. "It is
what I would call an in your face strategy," recalled Sapieha, "ensuring that everyone was
accountable and would inform me if there was an issue in completing their tasks as I knew
EnactusOC was not always their top priority."
Sapieha also identified that she used various communication tools and technology
platforms to determine what would work best. Initially, she tried to run virtual engagements, like
an online trivia night, but these virtual events were met with very little enthusiasm. Other
unsuccessful online events included holding team meetings and having alumni come in as past
speakers to share their experiences, to motivate and engage members. Sapieha realized they
needed to engage each team member individually. The tools she used included group chats,
Facebook messenger, a Slack portal, team emails, and individual texting, often using more than
one medium at a time. She recognized students were already experiencing 'Zoom fatigue' as all
their courses were online, and she was cautious of not mimicking their educational environment.
Sapieha ensured she followed up with a phone call to connect personally with any individual that
signed up on the website recruitment forum. She was conscious of having herself or an executive
member try to allocate tasks or roles in a timely manner to “hook” new members before they lost
interest but did recognize that without any in person events and a smaller number of projects 'on
their plate,' this was more difficult to achieve.
Sapieha discovered that new members who had yet to experience Enactus had fewer
expectations and were more willing to accept the imposed restrictions. For example, team
member Sunidia Sobti acknowledged that because it was her first year, she did not have the
experience of in-person team activities for comparison. Lenarcic recognized the social
atmosphere was not ideal but identified that the "online format allowed me to take on a lot more
because I did not have to travel anywhere, and I could jump from one Zoom room to another
with case," allowing her to contribute at a higher level to team and project activities. Walker, a
seasoned Project Manager and member of Enactus, said the adaptation to more remote
communications and project management forced her to learn new technology platforms. Walker
reflected, "It was scary and challenging at first with such a learning curve in technology, but I
really wanted to help the other students' transition, so I took on more responsibility as a result,
and it forced me to become a stronger leader. Nicole continued to encourage me, and I found her
growth inspiring." Despite being disappointed that team-bonding experiences were difficult to
run, Walker found Enactus motivating because it was at least one thing that connected her
consistently with others throughout the academic year.
The EnactusOC team, in the fall of 2020, created a unique partnership with one of their
flagship projects, Fruit Snaps, to expand the healthy snack program into a broader social
enterprise through a mobile juicing opportunity. Working with the Vernon team and other
community stakeholders, and adapting to the changing health guidelines, the students picked
apples in the orchard and processed them in a facility operated by a community partner. This
project, which initially involved dried fruit, expanded to include a new apple juice product with
orchardists. The EnactusOC team also partnered with a fifth-grade elementary school class that
learned about food security and the environment, and helped pick apples to support the school
breakfast program. In addition, Sapieha and EnactusOC members travelled to the North
Okanagan community earlier in the fall and worked alongside community members in a rare
opportunity for socially distanced activities. However, this proved to be short-lived as the
pandemic halted further apple picking or any more outdoor team events. Looking back, Sapieha
wished they had run more team activities at the start "Organizing more social events in the
summer or early fall would have motivated more students to come back, or to join and get
excited for the year," Sapieha reflected. "We just thought we would have more time."
TEAM CHALLENGES

A new initiative Sapieha introduced in fall 2020 was "eate style personalized chats" with
individual administrators at Okanagan College. Executive members met one-on-one with the OC
leadership team to build relationships and give project and team updates between the leadership
team at OC and Enactus. This effort was met with great success, as many administrators signed
up and commented to faculty how much they appreciated this reach out. Yet, when the same idea
was instigated with the student members, it was met with very little enthusiasm. "We needed to
insert more fuel into the team-pot just with projects but overall social activities," recognized
Klingel. "I wish we had done this sooner, and I could have done more check-ins with the
team-the fall was so difficult for all of us; we were just trying to get through it." Rubadeau
identified how difficult it was to build relationships with the students in an online environment
only. "There were no organic opportunities to bump into students in the hallway or chat after
class to promote Enactus, or to be in more regular contact with current members to help coach
and encourage their more active involvement." He detailed the invisibility of students, it was
easier to fade or not show up at all when it was all online, and the somewhat isolating experience
also contributed to an apparent lack of excitement. Participating in team-building activities
remotely was not attractive. Sapieha recognized a huge difference between new and returning
members and discovered that many of the past students failed to return despite a very positive
experience with Enactus, an experience she had not witnessed before. "They had that experience
from before of what Enactus was like, going to competitions and feeling that high and that sense
of community, and this was not the same; I can probably count the number of previous members
that stuck around on one hand," Sapieha recounted. Wehrmann had returned and stepped into the
VP, Human Resources position to help with recruitment and team building, but it became more
of an administrative role because of Covid and a lack of events. "I really missed out on meeting
others and networking at competitions and team events," admitted Wehrmann, "there was a lot of
Zoom fatigue and it felt lifeless over the screen." Plaxton explained how difficult it was to
engage new members or motivate existing ones because he never got to build that relationship in
person and help them develop and reach their goals.
The high levels of stress that students felt further impacted engagement and retention.
"Communicating what Enactus does, and what Enactus is, was already difficult and having to do
that in the online setting and during a pandemic, where people are only just focused on getting
through the next day, was super difficult," recalled Plaxton. Additionally, Walker reflected that it
was less clear for students how their time investment would lead to similar rewards as in the past.
Direct contact with community partners in the past had led to students gaining valuable
experience, connections, and even job offers. Competition events had access to recruiters, judges,
and students from regions across the country. Walker recounted that promoting Enactus over
other activities had been much harder to demonstrate.
Other barriers the EnactusOC team faced were shifting priorities and the perception of
reduced time and energy to participate in community activities. "I just think Covid made
everyone feel ten times busier, especially as a student," Sapieha surmised. "I know the feedback
from almost all my peers was that my four classes suddenly feel like eight. I also heard that
because of the pandemic, people had to reprioritize things, and I believe volunteer commitment
obviously got pushed to the back of the pack." Sapieha adapted by trying to be as friendly and
fun as possible, joking around or, as she added, "trying to add a human element to all her
communications." Rubadeau commented upon Sapieha's terrific smile and how it welcomed
people into her space, invited them in, created trust, followership, and a motivation to engage
Rubadeau also recognized that Enactus members, and sometimes the executive, did not always
share Sapieha's desire to get things done, and that this caught her by surprise. "Nicole is a high
performer and she naturally assumed students would have the same motivation and capabilities
that she has. However, in an online environment, it took longer for this to surface and to
recognize that although she was very self-driven and needed little guidance, this was not the
same for many of the students," commented Rubadeau. As a response, Sapieha admitted she
often took on more of the tasks herself - from student roles to executive activities - instead of
relying on others. She wanted to demonstrate active involvement in the team and had the
experience and skills to perform this well but realized that she was not developing a team for the
future without effective delegation.

SALVAGING THE YEAR - A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Klingel worried that there would be real challenges in the next year for the team with the
reduced success in online recruitment. The team was the smallest it had been in years, with
approximately 25 members operating on only two active campuses. He heard this was a common
struggle during his meetings with other faculty advisors across the country. Succession planning,
Klingel identified, often occurred partway through the year, and depended upon some of the
executive and leadership team finding success and being excited to increase their involvement in
the following year.
Rubadeau worried about the absence of extrinsic motivators due to the pandemic meeting
community leaders, networking, presenting at competitions and team building events with the
team and how that might impact the team for the rest of the year, and beyond. He recalled going
to an EnactusOC executive meeting in the late fall to support Sapieha and emphasize the need for
students to step up, and reinforced all the reasons why the work of this group mattered.
"Although they are volunteers," Rubadeau stated, "the more capable of the senior leaders
recognize that there's a payout that may not be immediate but will be possibly more rewarding
for them than a traditional part-time job."
As fall exams approached, Sapieha reached out to the entire team to survey their interest
in trying out for a competition spot. Typically, teams were selected before the Christmas break,
so they had ample time to prepare for competitions over the next several months. When she got
little to no enthusiasm or interest for this role, she was not surprised, as she even doubted her
interest and motivation to take on this completely virtual role. She knew there was an expectation
from faculty and external partners to participate because they were an experienced team with a
history of strong competitive results. She also recognized there was value in these events,
individually and overall, for the group. Had she waited too long before identifying that there
were issues with participation and commitment?
Sapieha requested a Zoom meeting with her faculty advisor team to discuss the situation.
Klingel had somewhat expected this situation even though Sapieha had widely promoted these
kinds of opportunities. While Sapieha practiced good communication, "She was not getting the
same feedback response from her team. I knew there was something else missing with the
message." Rubadeau reflected that "Nicole rarely, if ever, complained about others who
underperformed. We decided to task her with coming up with a strategy to improve morale and
get the team excited and engaged. We were unsure at this point if the team could be re-engaged."
Sapieha was feeling a bit less stressed with the fall exam period over and had almost
three weeks without classes to put some focus and energy into envisioning what the second half
of the academic year could be. This was the time when projects typically went into high gear to
achieve outcomes for competitions, donors, and team metrics, and students busily prepared for
their presentation teams. In her experience with Enactus, this had been a period of intense
activity, high camaraderie, and a sense of excitement. Her previous experience had demonstrated
that the momentum created through project expansion and working on competition teams, was
often the motivator for students to expand their involvement in Enactus for the next year and
connect them to their overall goals. Sapieha believed many people-students, faculty advisors,
external partners, donors, school administrators - were counting on her to lead EnactusOC to
success, including strong competition results. Could she orchestrate a turnaround in team
motivation and morale? What would be her legacy as the 15th student President of EnactusOC?
Sapacha was looking forward to a break from her studies over the Christmas holidays and
was eager to spend time with her family and friends. "I knew the situation was dire, and much of
it was out of my control," Sapieha admitted. "What I wasn't sure was if it was Calistic to have
expectations of the team to perform as in previous years, or to admit I was better off taking my
foot off the gas" As she headed downstairs for a family dinner to celebrate the end of exams, she
thought about her very busy final semester ahead and wondered: was she up for the daunting task
that lay ahead?
Exhibit 1- EnactusOC Timeline
2005: Okanagan College (OC) sends two students and one faculty advisor to the National
competition in May as observers to learn more about the organization called ACE (Advancing
Canadian Entrepreneurship). In September, OC forms an ACE Okanagan team on the Kelowna,
BC campus.
2006: ACE Okanagan competes at their first National competition in May taking home the John
Dobson "best start-up chapter" in the country award.
2008: The team changes their name to SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) Okanagan as per
Canada branding. The team competes at their first Regionals event (Western Canada
competition) in March and secures two first-place finishes. At the Nationals competition in May,
the team achieves 2nd place in the country for the Entrepreneurship category. SIFE Okanagan
expands its team to the second campus of Vernon, BC in September.
2009: SIFE Okanagan wins two first-place awards at the Regionals competition in March and
secures three top 3 awards at the Nationals competition. As a result, the team is identified as one
of three institutions to participate in accelerator training at the SIFE World Cup event in Berlin,
Germany, in October.
2010: SIFE Okanagan wins their first top award of the country in the Green category at
Nationals.
2011: SIFE Okanagan wins the first of four National "Let's Can Hunger Challenge" awards at the
Nationals. In September the team expands to their fourth and final campus of Salmon Arm, BC.
2013: SIFE Okanagan transitions to their third and final name change, Enactus Okanagan
College (EnactusOC), in coordination with Enactus Canada branding
2014-2019: Enactus OC team wins first-place finishes at every annual Regionals competition and
secures top three national finishes in 2017 (financial literacy & youth empowerment) & 2019
(climate action) Additional national recognition includes Team Advisor, Alumni, Faculty,
Campus Administration, Student leadership & Student Project Manager awards.
2020: EnactusOC competes at the Regionals in early May and takes home a first-place win in
Climate Action Challenge. Western Canada was the only competition to be offered face-to-face
as the rest of the regional competitions across Canada move online. Nicole Sapieha was
identified as the new President of EnactusOC in April for the 2020-21 academic year. Climate
Action team was 3rd place at National competition in May as well as two other national awards.
Enactus Canada decides in September to move all events and competition for the 2020-21
academic year to an online format.
Exhibit 2 - EnactusOC Organizational Chart Fall 2020

EnactusOC was a student-led organization with various stakeholders who were critical to its
operation and success. The faculty advisors worked with the Student President, Executive
members, and Project Managers to support their project work, manage their team's operations,
and help them secure donors and community partners to fund and guide their programs. Faculty
advisors acted as liaisons between the EnactusOC team and internal stakeholders, including OC
Administration. Both students and faculty advisors had relationships with team members from
Enactus Canada who provided resources and expertise specific to each role.
Note: Only the characters listed in the case are included by name in the organizational and
stakeholder chart

Exhibit 3 - EnactusOC Project Description

Accelerate Youth: provided practical life skills to at-risk youth in the alternative school system.
Program operated in Kelowna for 3 years (2017-2019)
CANSave: taught school age students the fundamental of saving and budgeting. Offered in
person in Kelowna and Vernon and now is delivered across Canada (2015-present).
Farmbag: worked with farmers to distribute local produce through a school-based fundraiser.
Offered in Penticton and Vernon for 6 years (2012-2017).
Fruit Snaps: collected un-wanted fruit and dehydrated it into a healthy snack for food insecure
populations, which expanded into a social enterprise producing a fruit juice product. Fruit Snaps
were produced at Gleaners facilities in Vernon and Oliver. Volunteers on all four campuses
helped to distribute to local schools and foodbanks while the Gleaners partnership enabled
international shipments. (2018-present).
Innspire: created a social enterprise based in Kelowna that took donated soaps that were
upcycled and sold to support men experiencing homelessness (2014-2017)
InStill Life: created an experiential program for students in grades five and six that taught about
food, sustainability and financial literacy, incorporating a micro-lending and entrepreneurship
project. The program was taught across four campuses (2012 2015)
Launch-a-preneur: created a three-month program to assist individuals and teams to
successfully plan for and launch their business in the Shuswap region. Offered only in Salmon
Arm (2013-2019)
Momentum: developed a 12-week educational program focused on healthy cooking and
financial literacy for single mothers offered in Penticton (2014-2016)
ReWine: conducted a research project aimed at reducing wine bottle use in the Okanagan.
Project offered in partnership with the Kelowna and Penticton campus (2013-2015).
Rising: created an educational program teaching youth about social issues such as homelessness.
Operated in Kelowna with plans to expand into a social enterprise through the sale of curriculum
materials (2020-present).
Silver Surfers: taught seniors how to use technology to connect with loved ones. Program ran in
Kelowna and Vernon (2015-2019).
Venture Okanagan: developed a Kelowna-based Investor Forum (2010-2016).
Young Entrepreneurs Program: created an entrepreneurial program offered in a Dragun Den's
style competition, that operated in 3 campuses Kelowna, Vernon, and Penticton (2006-2010)

Note this is not an exhaustive list of all the team's projects throughout their history.
Exhibit 4 - 2019-20 EnactusOC team and project pictures